Iced age: Cold brew coffee industry catching on in US

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Dive Brief:

Once deemed a summer trend, cold brew coffee grew in the U.S. at a rate of 115% this past year, reaching $7.9 million in sales, according to Mintel. Since 2010, growth has increased by 339% through estimated 2015.

Though this ready-to-drink coffee option is becoming more prevalent in stores, it still only makes up about 0.4% of the segment's sales in estimated 2015.

Nearly one-quarter of consumers drink cold brew coffee, with older millennials and men being the most common cold brew drinkers.

Dive Insight:

However, cold brew is still just a trend and has awhile to go to attract enough consumers to be considered a new mainstay in the ready-to-drink coffee industry.

"While cold brew represents a small portion of the overall category, our research indicates curiosity about trying a new style of coffee is driving current consumer demand. However, this may foretell future challenges for the beverage; when a newer coffee brewing method begins to trend, it may easily overshadow cold brew’s current popularity," Elizabeth Sisel, beverage analyst at Mintel, said in a news release.

More companies are embracing cold brew coffee, which means competition is increasing in a previously uncrowded space. The driving factors for the industry seem to be convenience, which appeals to on-the-go consumers much like the growing snacking trend, as well as the customization and versatility of the product.

However, some consumers cannot get beyond the taste or the price, which still hold cold brew coffee back from going fully mainstream.